SYDNEY – Winning public support to install 10,000km of new power transmission lines in Australia is a key challenge for a shift to renewables, according to the country’s energy market operator.

The rush to shutter ageing coal-fired power plants and replace them with renewable generation assets is already putting pressure on electricity infrastructure and upgrades are needed, Mr Daniel Westerman, chief executive officer of the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo), said Monday in a speech. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s A$20 billion (S$17 billion) programme to modernise Australia’s grid to enable greater use of clean energy sources will require a major effort to win the community’s consent, he said. That strategy is based on Aemo’s forecasts that the country’s energy transition will require 10,000km of new transmission lines by 2050.

“We know there are sections of communities in the proposed path of overhead transmission lines that are worried about the effect on their lives and livelihoods, especially among farming communities,” Mr Westerman said.

The operator, which manages Australia’s main energy market, is also preparing to handle forecast record high generation from rooftop solar during the southern hemisphere summer.

Australia now has about 3.5 million solar systems installed with about 20 gigawatts of potential output – equivalent to seven times the capacity of the nation’s largest coal plant, according to Mr Westerman. Oversupply from rooftops “can cause the grid to lose balance and lead to serious consequences,” he said. BLOOMBERG